Sunday, December 19, 2010

I get a call at least once a week from my dad asking me for computer help. Now, thanks to a few people at Google, I can send him a quick video instead of wasting 30 minutes explaining how to attach a photo to an email. Awesome.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Burger King's augmented reality banner created out of Crispin Porter + Bogusky promoted BK's value menu. Viewers would hold up any old dollar bill to their web ams and get a taste of what the greenback can buy. They can also use their faces to make like The King.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Just upload a picture of yourself trying on a new shirt, sporting a new haircut or rocking some jewelery and get instant feedback from the Fashism community. If you're not ready for the virtual stage, judge others by clicking "I like it", "I hate it" and commenting.

There's also a point system offering rewards every time a photo is uploaded and a comment is made or voted for on the site. These points help unlock discounts and specials through Fashism's retail partners.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Have you always dreamed of your web browser integrating your social experience? Your prayers may be answered. Introducing RockMelt.

"With RockMelt we’ve re-thought the user experience because a browser can and should be about more than simply navigating Web pages. Today, the browser connects you to your world. Why not build your world right into your browser?

Your friends are important to you, so we built them in. Now you’re able to chat, share that piano-playing-cat video everyone’s going to love, or just see what your friends are up to, regardless of what site you’re on. Your favorite sites are important to you, so we built them in too. Now you can access them from anywhere, without leaving the page you’re on. And RockMelt will tell you when something new happens.

Share or tweet links often? Yeah, us too. No more wading through each site’s goofy share widget or copy-pasting URLs. We built sharing directly into the browser, right next to the URL bar. Like a site or story? Click “Share” and BAM – link shared. You can use it on any site to post to Facebook or tweet about it on Twitter. It’s just one click away. That easy."

I haven't used it yet because I'm waiting for my limited beta invitation. But here's a demo video to peak your interest.

In a live interactive competition, a character named David Phoenix challenges Skittles fans to a duel of epic consequence - or at least delicious consequence. Phoenix wants Facebook fans to try to bury him in a tomb of Skittles. Every person who logs on to the app activates hundreds of Skittles which are dropped on Phoenix every 15 minutes.

After being buried in almost 2 million Skittles with time to spare, the mob won.

Monday, October 18, 2010

In celebration of the astrological clock tower's 600 year anniversary, Macula composed this amazing light show. According to their Vimeo site, the only lighting technology used were two Christie projectors (2x18000 lumens in HD). The detail and effects are amazing.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

This is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time and a great execution of an offline/online idea.

To promote his new show on TBS, Conan is sending a blimp up and down the East Coast for the month of October. You can follow it on Twitter or Foursquare for check-ins above his favorite spots. The project also implements the first ever auto-updating check-in location. So, spot the blimp and get a "Conan Blimpspotter" badge. Pretty cool.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Today, Anya and I visited a super cool artist collective in Boston called The Fringe Movement. A raw, old warehouse houses offices for a few web designers, a photographer, a letterpress printer, custom bike builders and a bunch of painters/sculptors.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

This past weekend I went to St Louis with my wife and kids to visit my brother's family.

The first day, they took us to the City Museum. It's described as "an eclectic mixture of children's playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel made out of unique, found objects." This description, although accurate, does the place no justice. It was the first time in my life that I've experienced a "you have to see it to believe it" moment.

The museum was imagined and built by internationally acclaimed sculptor Bob Cassilly and his crew of 20 artisans. Among the millions of items they used are salvaged bridges, construction cranes, miles of tile and wire, two abandoned planes and even a school bus that hangs over the roof's edge.

Everywhere you turn within the 600,000 square-foot former show factory, there are places to hide, things to climb and amazing slides - including a 10-story slide that goes from the roof to the second floor caves.

Experiencing such creative vision and execution has really reinvigorated me. It's also made me realize that I need to continue to push myself creativity and those working at RTH.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

And that's thanks to our friend Jarrod at J Fergeson Gallery who hooked us up with these amazing paintings by David Dodge Lewis from his The Evolution Series. The colors and detail are incredible...and you know we love a crazy concept.

Every three months or so, we're going to feature new work from some of the region's coolest artists from Jarrod's gallery. It's a great way to infuse a little inspiration into our work environment while giving these contemporary artists a bit of Broad Street exposure.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I been thinking and reading a lot lately about the reinvention of the agency structure. I've worked at big shops in NYC and small shops in RIC, and what's interesting (and frustrating) is they both suffer from the same problems that prevent true collaborative development.

So, I made a quick list of things that we do at RTH to try to stay a free-range shop.

1. Stop referring to writers and art directors as "creatives." Everyone should be. 2. Don't tolerate egos - they are cancers to the process 3. Kick off projects with ALL members of the team present - not just planners and account peeps4. Write an internal brief together 5. Set up a blog or wiki where briefs, research, articles, inspiration and ideas can live and be shared 6. Protect each person's core value to the team, but challenge everyone to contribute to all aspects of the project by making everyone responsible for success7. Don't work the teams to death 8. Promote and reward all idea sharing from everyone on the team - no idea is stupid (within reason) 9. Drink and bullshit together

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

In an app-crazed world, there's a lot of "ho hum" ideas being produced.

It seems that if an app doesn't offer some sort of utility/value and fit into a bigger campaign idea, it's really just a PR gimmick. No need to dredge up the culprits. I'm all about being positive these days - or so I tell my wife.

With that said, I love the Old Navy "Booty Reader" online app from CP+B. First, the fortune teller reads your butt by using your web cam or uploaded pictures. It's always fun to see your ass on the screen. Humbling to say the least.

After she sizes you up from a few angles, she asks you to choose 3 cards from a deck that subtly define your different activity levels and lifestyle. Then, voila, she magically provides you with the perfect pair of jeans.

It's a fun, memorable and useful tool that's built for word of mouth success.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I'm a hot sauce snob. I admit it. I love the stuff and am always seeking out the latest and hottest. Out of the hundreds I've tried, I've never seen one packaged as beautifully as Fuego Hot Sauce.

The line of sauces was designed by University of Washington student, Stephanie Hughes. I love the raw, natural materials and the showcase of the sauce in the small elixir-style bottle. There's always something so gravitating about the use of wood and cork. The numbered heat scale labeling system is a great touch too.

The name of the line, Fuego Hot Sauce," is a little obvious, but all of the other details more than make up for it.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

In case you missed it, this latest Nike commercial featuring the current superstars of soccer is beautifully done. I'm wondering though if any goalies out there are annoyed that their position was absent from the spot? Sure, goal keeping is no where near as sexy as goal scoring. But it's arguably more stressful, lonely and difficult to be great.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Mark, Anya and Ingi were looking good after a few well placed drinks at Sam Millers. Great to finally hang out with the gents from London and Portsmouth in person. Their shop is amazing and Release The Hounds is lucky to have such friends/partners.

Our Story

We're a brand experience shop in Richmond, Virginia that focuses on developing brand stories and how best to tell them. We operate as a strategically-centered creative collective and have partnerships with some of the country's most talented marketing minds. Give us a call, and let's have some fun.